Relics (episode)
Series: TNG Season: 6 Original Airdate: 1992-10-12 Production Number: 230 Year: 2369 Stardate: 46125.3 Story by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Alexander Singer The Enterprise discovers a ship crashed on a Dyson Sphere for more than 75 years with a single survivor suspended in the transporter beam: Captain Montgomery Scott. Summary Teaser The Enterprise-D picks up a distress call from the USS Jenolan, a transport vessel that has been missing for 75 years. As the Enterprise drops out of warp to respond to the signal, the ship rocks violently to a massive gravitational field. Although initial scans do not find the source of the field, they trace the field to its centre and discover a massive spherical structure, 200 million kilometres in diameter (or two-thirds of the Earth's orbit around the Sun). The sphere's dimensions are consistent with those of the (until then) theoretical structure known as a Dyson Sphere. The sphere's size creates massive gravimetric interference that interferes with sensors, preventing the Enterprise from locating it before the ship had dropped out of warp. The Enterprise locates the Jenolan, having crashed on the surface of the sphere. Surprisingly, power readings are still emanating from the crashed ship and life support systems are still operating. Commander Riker, Lt. Cmdr. La Forge and Lt. Worf beam to the Jenolan and find that although some of the ship's systems are still functioning, there are no apparent signs of life. However, Cmdr. La Forge discovers that the transporters have been reconfigured in a strange manner - power has been drawn from the auxilliary systems (they were a regenerative power source) while the rematerialization subroutines have been intentionally disabled with the phase inducers being connected to the emitter array and that the pattern buffers have been locked in a diagnostic cycle. Furthermore, a pattern is still in the buffer and amazingly it has had almost no degradation. Riker wonders if someone can survive being held in stasis in the transporters for 75 years and La Forge finds out by rematerializing the pattern. Captain Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott materializes on the transporter pad. Act One Scotty thanks Geordi for rematerializing him, runs over to the transporter console and attempts to retrieve a second pattern, that of Ensign Matt Franklin but unfortunately, one of the phase inducers has failed and the transporters cannot compensate and Franklin's pattern degrades too much for him to be rematerialized. Riker offers his condolences and introduces himself and Geordi to Scotty and that they came from the starship Enterprise. Scotty reacts understandably and asks how long he was in the pattern buffers for. Worf interrupts the the conversation and Riker introduces Worf to Scotty. Realising that there was a Klingon serving in Starfleet, Scotty knew that he had been in the buffer for a very long time indeed. When asked why he used the transporters to put himself and Franklin in to stasis, Scotty explains that although only he and Franklin survived the crash, there were too few supplies to survive long enough to be rescued. After transporting back to the Enterprise, Geordi escorts Scotty to sickbay while discussing some of the advances in technology over the past 75 years and the events leading to the Jenolan's crash. Geordi tells Scotty that he is really impressed with his use of the transporter to survive but Scotty plays it down because he lost his friend. In sickbay, Scotty was diagnosed with only minor injuries. Captain Picard greets Scotty in sickbay and is surprised that he was onboard the Jenolan as he wasn't listed in the crew list but Scotty was onboard as a passenger to the Norpin colony on Norpin V. Geordi is ordered to study the sphere and Scotty is eager to help but Dr Crusher advises him to rest. When Scotty is escorted to his quarters by Ensign Kane, he is awe-struck at the luxury that he is entitled to compared to his time. Scotty, with much enthusiasm, reminisces to Kane about his years in Starfleet but Kane has little interest in Scotty's nostalgia and returns to duty, leaving Scotty alone feeling much less enthusiastic and somewhat pensive about life in the 24th century. Act Two As La Forge and his team are working on their spectrographic analysis of the sphere, Scotty interrupts insisting on offering Geordi his assistance. Geordi skeptically accepts his offer and the team gets down to work. Meanwhile on the bridge, Data reports to Captain Picard that the sphere was built around a G-Type star and that its interior surface provides an environment much like that of an M-Class planet but there are no apparent signs of inhabitants. Picard orders for probes to be launched to speed up the scans of the sphere. Back in engineering, Scotty finds further advances and changes in technology that in his era were dangerous. Geordi is becoming irritated but bites his tongue until Scotty offers advice on how to deal with Starfleet captains. Geordi finally loses his cool and tells Scotty that he is in the way and Scotty leaves engineering in a huff. Scotty arrives in Ten Forward and orders a drink of Scotch whisky. He is repulsed when he tastes it realising that it is not "real" Scotch. Data steps in and tells Scotty about the use of synthehol in place of real alcohol and offers a "real" alcoholic drink which he cannot describe any better than being "green". Scotty takes much more kindly to this drink. Act Three In a slightly drunk state, Scotty arrives outside of one of the holodecks and requests a simulation of the bridge of the Enterprise, his Enterprise. Scotty almost loses himself in the memory serving aboard his former ship as Captain Picard walks in after coming off duty. Scotty offers Picard a drink and Picard accepts. Just as Scotty is about to warn Picard of the drink's strength Picard downs a glassful and tells Scotty than it is Aldebaran whiskey - he gave it to Guinan. The two captains talk about their previous service in Starfleet with Scotty talking about his duty aboard the Enterprise - the first ship onboard which he served as chief engineer while Picard talks about his first command on the USS Stargazer. Scotty starts to feel gloomy and that he is in the way in the 24th century and that he is obsolete and past his prime. He then leaves the holodeck feeling dejected. The following day, Picard requests that Geordi go personally with Scotty back to the Jenolan to recover the ship's logs, hoping to make Scotty feel useful again. Geordi understands where the Captain is coming from and gladly accepts the request. As Geordi and Scotty transport over to the Jenolan, Data discovers a communications array not too far away from the Enterprise's current location and they set a course for it. As the Enterprise arrives at the array, they discover a large hatch, presumably a front door. They open hailing frequencies and as they do, the hatch opens and a series of powerful tractor beams pull the Enterprise inside the sphere, easily overpowering it. Act Four Because the resonance frequency of the tractor beams used to pull the Enterprise inside is incompatible with the ship's power systems, the relays for the warp and impulse drive overload and are rendered inoperable. The Enterprise has now lost primary and auxilliary systems and the ship is soon released from the tractor beams but because the Enterprise is still moving under the inertia of being towed it, it is heading directly for the star. Back onboard the Jenolan, Scotty is having trouble with recovering the ship's logs calling it "garbage". Geordi knows that Scotty is referring to both himself and the ship and tries to console him by saying that the basics of technology haven't changed a great deal in 75 years and that had the structural damage of the Jenolan not been so extensive, she'd probably still be in service today. Scotty is dismissive and says that nobody would want something so old but Geordi disagrees saying that you don't dispose of something just because it's old. Scotty feels much more in place and a bond begins to form between him and Geordi but the moment breaks as he moves back to the console he was working on. He asks Geordi if he can get a dynamic mode converter to recover the logs. Geordi suggests using something similar but his call to the Enterprise for assistance goes unanswered. Back on the Enterprise, the ship is three minutes from be destroyed by the star. However, Commander Riker has managed to regain 30% of the maneuvering thrusters which although would not be enough to completely stop the ship. It was not until power was diverted from the auxilliary systems to the thrusters that they could just get in to orbit of the star. Picard demands to know why the Enterprise was towed in and orders a scan of the interior for life forms. Geordi and Scotty can't find the Enterprise and they realise that she must be inside the sphere. Although it seems impossible to get the Jenolan back in to flight, they two engineers still try restoring power to the ship's engines. Back onboard the Enterprise, Data reports to Picard that the star is highly unstable, expelling matter and severe bursts of radiation. This explains why the inhabitants of the sphere abandoned it. He postulated that the Enterprise's hailing frequencies triggered an automated series of tractor beams which would guide a starship inside the sphere - this would explain why the Enterprise was pulled inside without anybody being inside the sphere. The star emits a solar flare and the Enterprise raises her shields accordingly but they are only operating at 23%. To worsen matters, the solar flares are becoming larger and within three hours, the Enterprise's shields will no longer protect them. Act Five Geordi and Scotty are working on repairing the Jenolan's engines by jury-rigging the ship's supply of deuterium and they are successful as power is restored. Scotty offers Geordi the conn but Geordi is surprised as Scotty is the senior officer but Scotty tells Geordi to take it as he only ever wanted to be an engineer. Geordi gladly accepts and Scotty mans the engineering console. The Enterprise takes a beating from the star's solar flares but Riker reports that partial impulse power has been restored. Picard asks Worf if the ship's phasers could be used to cut a hole through the shell of the sphere, allowing the Enterprise to escape but it is composed of carbon-neutronium and that phasers (or any other of the ship's weapons) would be completely ineffective. The Jenolan is now orbiting the sphere and they trace the Enterprise's ion trail to the hatch that she was pulled in to. The ion trail's distrubution around the hatch suggested that the Enterprise's impulse engines at full reverse, suggesting that she went in unwillingly. They came to the same conclusion that the hatches were access terminals and not communications arrays, which are triggered by certain subspace frequencies e.g. hailing frequencies. When the Jenolan opened hailing frequencies 75 years ago, the tractor beams locked on to the ship but severely damaging it, causing it to crash on the sphere's surface. Scotty suggests positioning the Jenolan far away enough from the hatch then opening hailing frequencies so the hatch will open but the tractor beams would miss the ship so when the hatch begins to close, they would go in to the gap and use the ship's shields to hold the doors open for the Enterprise to exit the sphere. Geordi dismisses the idea as suicidal but Scotty pleads to him that it would work, engineer to engineer. Geordi gives Scotty the benefit of the doubt and goes ahead with his plan. They carry out Scotty's plan and it works accordingly. The Jenolan wedges herself in the doors and the shields hold and manage to open a channel to the Enterprise. The Enterprise receives the hail and sets a course for the hatch. The Jenolan suffers heavy damage and her engines fail while she is wedged in the hatch and Geordi tells Picard that they'd have to destroy the ship to get through. When the Enterprise is in transporter range of the Jenolan, they beam Geordi and Scotty back onboard and fire photon torpedoes destroying the Jenolan. The doors continue to close but the makes it out of the hatch. As Geordi and Scotty walk of the transporter pad, they share a joke about the mission going well. Some time later, Geordi reminisces with Scotty about the events in the episode "Galaxy's Child" and it is obvious that a strong bond has formed between to two engineers. Scotty was expecting Geordi to take him for a drink but Geordi had something else in mind. As they walk through the doors, the senior staff are present in front of a shuttlecraft. Picard offers Scotty the shuttle as "an extended loan" in thanks for sacrificing the Jenolan to save the Enterprise. Scotty says that he won't be going to the Norpin colony as he first planned. The staff bid Scotty farewell (except for Worf) while Geordi stays in the shuttlebay as Scotty departs. Background Information *James Doohan is the third actor from The Original Series to appear on TNG. DeForest Kelley appeared in "Encounter at Farpoint" and Leonard Nimoy appeared in "Unification" Parts I and II" *Two major continuity errors were made between this episode and "Star Trek: Generations" and the television series Enterprise - Captain James T. Kirk was presumed dead on the Enterprise-B's maiden voyage before Scotty boarded the Jenolan to go the Norpin colony. However when Scotty was beamed back onboard the Jenolan he said "The Enterprise... I shoulda known. And I'll bet it was Jim Kirk himself who hauled the old girl out of mothballs to come looking for me," suggesting that Kirk was still alive when Scotty was en route to the Norpin colony. Additionally, when Scotty asks the enterprise computer to recreate his Enterprise on the Holodeck, the voice of Majel Barret replies by requesting that he be more specific, informing him that five ships have carried the name 'Enterprise' (NCC-1701, NCC-1701A, B, C and the current D). Given there now exists some 14 vessels which carried the name Enterprise in Star Trek Continuity, 11 of which the computer would have known of at the time period of the episode, this is not consistent. However, given that Relics was produced before Generations and Enterprise, you may be able to excuse such glaring errors. *The theory behind Dyson sphere is a real postulation made by Freeman Dyson in 1959. Memorable Quotes *"Could someone... survive in a transporter buffer for seventy-five years?" -Riker "I know a way to find out." -Geordi *"How are you feeling?" -Picard "I don't know. How am I feeling?" -Scotty, looking at Beverly "Other than a couple of bumps and bruises, I'd say you feel fine for a man of a hundred and forty-seven." -Beverly "I don't feel a day over a hundred and twenty." -Scotty, joking at Picard *"Starship captains are like children. They want everything right now and they want it their way. The secret is to give them what they need, not what they want." -Scotty, offering Geordi advice on handling Starfleet Captains *"...It is green." -Data, attempting to describe Aldebaran whiskey *"Synthetic scotch and synthetic commanders" -Scotty, to himself on Data and synthehol *"N-C-C-One-Seven-O-One. No bloody A, B, C, or, D." -Scotty, frustrated with the computer for not immediately understanding his request to see the bridge of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) *"Bunch of old useless, garbage..." -Scotty, referring not only to the Jenolan's systems but to himself as well Links and References Guest Stars * James Doohan as Montgomery Scott * Lanei Chapman as Sariel Rager * Erick Weiss as Kane * Stacie Foster as Bartel * Ernie Mirich as Waiter References Aldebaran whiskey; Argelius II; auto-containment field; Leah Brahms; Chief Engineer; class 4 probe; class M; computer; Constitution class; deuterium; diagnostic mode; dilithium; Dohlman; duotronic enhancers; dynamic mode converter; Fleet Museum; Freeman Dyson; Dyson Sphere; Elas; emitter array; [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]]; EPS; Matt Franklin; G type star; Guinan; holodeck; impulse engine; impulse engine specifications; isolinear chip; [[USS Jenolan|USS Jenolan]]; James T. Kirk; life support; matter stream; memory core; neutronium; Norpin colony; Norpin V; pattern buffer; phase inducer; phaser; plasma intercooler; Psi 2000; resonator array; rematerialization subroutine; scotch whisky; Sickbay; solar flare; spectrographic analysis; [[USS Stargazer|USS Stargazer]]; subspace radio; Sydney class; synthehol; tractor beam; transporter. Previous Episode: Man of the People Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation Next Episode: Schisms Category:TNG episodes de:Besuch von der alten Enterprise